Lincoln, Lincoln, I’ve been thinkin’
What the hell have you been drinkin’?
Is it water? Is it wine?
Oh my god, it’s turpentine!
Tom Paxton has “Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation” and “I Don’t Want A Bunny Wunny” (about Jimmy Carter."
Saxon - “Dallas 1 PM” is about JFK, doesn’t mention him by name.
Hair (“the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical”) had a song that went:
LBJ
Took the IRT
Down to Fourth Street, USA.
When he got there,
What did he see?
The youth of America
On LSD.
When Nixon succeeded Johnson, the lyrics were re-written to:
Tricky Dick
Took the IRT
Down to Fourth Street, USA.
When he got there,
What did he see?
LBJ
On LSD.
Richard Nixon - Frank Zappa’s Dickie’s Such An Asshole
“Mohammed’s Radio” by Warren Zevon.
Ayatollah’s got his problems too
Even Jimmy Carter’s got the highway blues
Only in the live version from 1980, though, AFAIK.
Michael Jackson’s “They Don’t Care About Us” mentions Roosevelt. In context, I assume he was referring to FDR and not Teddy.
Stop everything.
I think I hear the president.
FDR merits a mention in the German marching song “Sieg Heil Viktoria” alongside Churchill and Stalin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkajXeVLpk4&bpctr=1365976377
Not sure if its to be considered a “campaign song” but of course “We Are Coming Father Abraham” is about our 16th President.
That’s a great song.
The Chad Mitchell Trio updated their song The John Birch Society to The George Bush Society
The Misfits - Bullet (JFK)
Dead Kennedys - California Uber Alles (Carter), Moral Majority (Reagan), We’ve Got A Bigger Problem Now (Nixon, Reagan), plus Reagan is mentioned in a few other songs
Gil Scott Heron said
The revolution will not show you pictures of Nixon
blowing a bugle…
in The Revolution Will Not Be Televised and Ronald Reagan came in for a bit of stick in his B Movie as well.
“Tell Me Why You Like Roosevelt (Poor Man’s Friend)” - Otis Jackson and later Jesse Winchester.
Gillian Welch references ‘The Great Emancipator’ in “Ruination Day”. A chilling song from a brilliant album.
Alabama “Song of the South”
Cotton was short & the weeds were tall
but Mr. Roosevelt was gonna save us all
They did an updated version for George W. Bush (and changed it to, “in the mind of our president”) although it didn’t quite fit as well.
The Animaniacs theme song included the line, “Bill Clinton plays the sax”.
I’ve only seen a bit of a movie that included a song, “Benjamin Harrison, he’s far beyond comparison”. I think it was a musical, so I’m not sure that counts as popular.
Tim Curry’s “I Do The Rock” mentions Jimmy Carter (along with many other celebs from the 70s and earlier).
Bob Dylan, “I Shall Be Free”:
Well, my telephone rang it would not stop
It’s President Kennedy callin’ me up
He said, “My friend Bob, what do we need to make the country grow?”
I said, “My friend John: Brigitte Bardot,
Anita Ekberg,
Sophia Loren.
Country’ll grow."
John Prine namechecks two in the fabulous chorus to “Grandpa Was a Carpenter”:
Grandpa was a carpenter
He built houses, stores, and banks
Chain smoked camel cigarettes
And hammered nails in planks
He was level on the level
And shaved even every door
And he voted for Eisenhower
Because Lincoln won the war.
Rapper Killer Mike has a whole song about Reagan.
In the musical “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” there’s a song *Keep Cool with Coolidge. *
And in one version of *You Made Me Love You, *Judy Garland sings it to FDR.
In one version of *You Made Me Love You, *Judy Garland sings it to FDR.
In the musical “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” there’s a song *Keep Cool with Coolidge. *(A few years ago, this was the Final Jeopardy answer. None of them got it, and even Trebek said he never heard of it. I, of course, knew it.)
And from *The Name Game:
*Lincoln!
Lincoln, Lincoln bo Bincoln
Bonana fanna fo Fincoln
Fee fy mo Mincoln, Lincoln!